Do Parents Regret Having Kids? According To This Survey, That Answer Is Yes

A new survey by VoucherCodesPro has found that one in 10 parents, struggling to cope with the financial demands and pressures of raising a child, said that they regretted having children

Many new parents will recognise the financial challenges faced when preparing to welcome their new-born into the world. However, it seems that some mums and dads are underestimating the difficult role of being a first-time parent, especially when it comes to money.

Respondents were initially asked, ‘How do you feel about your choice to have children?’ and according to the results, 68 per cent of the parents taking part stated that they love their choice and ‘wouldn’t have changed their decision for the world.’ In contrast, 11 per cent of the parents taking part stated that they ‘regretted’ their choice to have children; whilst the remaining 21 per cent simply claimed to feel ‘indifferent’ about their choice.

Those who claimed to regret their choice were asked to state why. According to the results, the main reasons for regretting having children were as follows:

1. Negative impact on finances – 76%

2. Negative impact on working life – 58%

3. Negative impact on relationship with partner – 37%

4. Negative impact on sex life – 24%

5. Negative impact on social life – 18%

Money came at the top of the list; with just over three qarters of those who regretted having kids saying that it was because of the financial aspect. Of those that felt their sex life was affected, 79 per cent said that they had sex less frequently, whereas 19 per cent claimed that having children had put paid to sex all together.

George Charles of VoucherCodesPro said: “All parents go through stressful stages, but to say that you regret having children is quite a big claim! Bringing children into the world creates a lot of joy for parents, yet it also creates a lot of stress. The impact of parenthood is profound. But is this impact always a good thing? Judging by our poll, it would suggest that some parents think not.”

Those that selected the impact on ‘working life’ as being one of the reasons why they regretted having children were asked why this was the case, to which 67 per cent said it was because they regretted having to give up their job to look after their children.

Of those that selected their relationship with their partner as a reason, 49 per cent said that they felt having children had put increased strain on their relationship with their partner. One person even said that having children was the cause of their divorce.

George added: “The majority of parents would agree that children are expensive, but most would accept the burdens in order to experience the benefits. However it seems that this is isn’t always the case, as some would be willing to turn back the clock if they could.”